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How should I go about getting my Datejust repaired

Louspalls

Horology Curious
9/7/21
6
0
0
Hello,

I recently took my ARF Datejust into a local watchsmith to have a Sellita swapped in because the A2824 it came with stopped working correctly. He switched the movement and everything seemed to be fine until I noticed that a couple of the hour markers have been scratched, the hands have been smudged, and to top it off it now has some moisture inside that is fogging up the crystal periodically.

He offered to repaint the markers and clean the hands but I'm not going to take it back there. As it's obvious he is too sloppy and this is the first rep I ever purchased and is my favorite in the collection.

My question is what would be the best recommendation for how to proceed with getting it back to the way it was? Is it possible to have the markers repainted and hands cleaned or is it easier to just purchase a new dial?

Photos are below:

**Also I know the datewheel is terrible, its what came stock on the Sellita and I plan to have that switched out for the original ARF DW once I get this repair underway.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
 

Davne25

Supporter // Watchaddict
23/3/17
389
126
43
Germany
derjenigewelcher +1 … haven’t seen such a „damage“ by a watchmaker in a long time. Are you sure that he was capable of doing the movement swap in the first place? Maybe he is just experienced with changing the battery on watches and thats it. I can’t imagine how he damaged the watch like that… where are you located at? - this way we can maybe recommend you a rep friendly watchsmith near you to fix the damage, if the other one isnt able..


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p0pperini

patr0n h0arder
Gold Patron
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29/1/19
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Wow - thats a hard one.
I would let this guy fix what he did wrong.
On the one hand, I agree - I'd be furious if I found this kind of damage done to a watch I'd taken to someone who's supposed to fix watches, and I'd want it put right. On the other hand, I'd be really reluctant to give the watch back to someone who's demonstrated that they're even clumsier than I am.

But the damage doesn't require replacing the dial and/or hands. Retouching the lume damage and cleaning the hands shouldn't be a difficult job for a watchsmith, or even for a half-decent modder. Just try and find one who comes with some prior recommendations!
 

Ralphy

SalesMod CodeName Duchess
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On the one hand, I agree - I'd be furious if I found this kind of damage done to a watch I'd taken to someone who's supposed to fix watches, and I'd want it put right. On the other hand, I'd be really reluctant to give the watch back to someone who's demonstrated that they're even clumsier than I am.

But the damage doesn't require replacing the dial and/or hands. Retouching the lume damage and cleaning the hands shouldn't be a difficult job for a watchsmith, or even for a half-decent modder. Just try and find one who comes with some prior recommendations!

Agree with this.

I would ask for your money back or at least a portion for this and then send it to a reputable modder on the forum to fix it. Sucks and it will cost you, but if it's your favorite piece then you do what you gotta do you know?
 

Louspalls

Horology Curious
9/7/21
6
0
0
Davne25 I'm located in Tampa, FL. I tried looking around in the watch repairs section of the forum but didn't see any organized list of smiths to choose from. Any recommendations on who I could send to and have the markers repainted and also get my datewheel swapped out?

The shop I went to gave me a full refund.
 

Hypes

You're Saying I Can Sell?
16/5/16
33
6
0
That's painful. A lot of local watch smiths in my area wouldn't touch reps as they can't give a 'guarantee' (i.e. if they break it it's on them, and they can't exactly source replacement parts) - what happened to you is probably the main reason why this is.

Definitely don't go back and look for one of the reputable modders here!
 

Hman12

Known Member
11/4/21
107
47
0
That's painful. A lot of local watch smiths in my area wouldn't touch reps as they can't give a 'guarantee' (i.e. if they break it it's on them, and they can't exactly source replacement parts) - what happened to you is probably the main reason why this is.

Definitely don't go back and look for one of the reputable modders here!

I would be even more angry is this was a gen and he had done this
 

Plaasbaas

IWC-hoarder and PAM-hunter
Supporter
Certified
4/4/21
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Any decent and trustworthy person should and would have realized what he had done and proactively given full disclosure when unable to undo the mishap, while handing it back, trying to mutually work out some form of compensation. This clearly has not happened.

Therefore I would rather not go back there.
 
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Siesta Shrink

Known Member
Patron
Certified
12/6/21
196
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Hey there,

I'm down the street in Sarasota. I haven't found anybody local to do rep work, but if I do I'll let you know. Can you do the same? Much appreciated.

I've got a really ethical and knowledgable gen Rolex guy in downtown St. Pete if you ever need anyone for gen purchase or repair. (He would truly set me on fire if he knew I was wearing reps! )

Jeff
941-586-0929
 
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Louspalls

Horology Curious
9/7/21
6
0
0
Siesta Shrink hey man I sure will keep you in mind if I happen to find a local modder. I used to live in Sarasota a few years ago. Nice to see someone on here that is relatively close by. The shop I went to was named Modern Trendz in Brandon. They actually don’t have a watch smith on site, they subcontract the work to someone else but they said they were willing to work on it so I took a chance on them…never again lol.

I ended up getting in contact with another user here named Katt who is going to take on the repair job. Planning to send to him this afternoon.